But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. ¹  Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, ²  son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. ³  The Lord was furious with the Israelites. ⁴ 

At that time Joshua attacked and eliminated the Anakites from the hill country ¹  – from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel. ²  Joshua annihilated them and their cities.

The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. ¹ 

It then turned on the west side southward from the hill near Beth Horon on the south and extended to Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city belonging to the tribe ¹  of Judah. This is the western border. ² 

Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?” He said to them, “I have only done to them what they have done to me.”

During the time of the judges ¹  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ²  So a man from Bethlehem ³  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ⁴  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ⁵ 

I gave you your master’s house, and put your master’s wives into your arms. ¹  I also gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all that somehow seems insignificant, I would have given you so much more as well!

Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests saying, “Tell the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back to his palace, ¹  when everything Israel is saying has come to the king’s attention. ² 

Then all the men of Israel began coming to the king. They asked the king, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, sneak the king away and help the king and his household cross the Jordan – and not only him but all of David’s men as well?”

All the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative! Why are you so upset about this? Have we eaten at the king’s expense? ¹  Or have we misappropriated anything for our own use?”

May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; ¹  behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he ²  – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.

When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty. ¹ 

When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin ¹  to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, ¹  like the festival celebrated in Judah. ²  On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. ³  In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.

Now Rehoboam son of Solomon ruled in Judah. He ¹  was forty-one years old when he became king and he ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, ²  the city the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel to be his home. ³  His mother was an Ammonite woman ⁴  named Naamah.

King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah. ¹  King Asa used the materials to build up ²  Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.

The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah. ¹  Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease. ² 

He sent ¹  this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you fight with me against Moab?” Jehoshaphat ²  replied, “I will join you in the campaign; my army and horses are at your disposal.” ³ 

King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he received from the Syrians ¹  in Ramah when he fought against King Hazael of Syria. King Ahaziah son of Jehoram of Judah went down to visit ²  Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel, for he was ill.

Jehoram ordered, “Hitch up my chariot.” ¹  When his chariot had been hitched up, ²  King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah went out in their respective chariots ³  to meet Jehu. They met up with him ⁴  in the plot of land that had once belonged to Naboth of Jezreel.